A pleasant parade

I want to open by thanking the folks at Liberty Bell Printing in West Seattle - having rushed in at the VERY last minute, and already largely given up on getting business cards to print out for the West Seattle American Legion Parade the next day, the folks there surprised me something fierce and told me to wait a few and they'd knock it out right away.

About half an hour after closing and a few (very reasonable) dollars later I left to head to the Luna Cafe, cards in hand, and nothing short of delighted with the product quality and the customer service. I'd recommend them to most anyone (yes, you too, Eileen - they really are that good and deserve *all* of our patronage!) .

Morning of the parade went reasonably well, right up till it got interesting.

Was taking Mom to her place on the route over by ShooFly Pie when she found an obscured 4" bump in the side walk and took a tumble, munched her glasses, and gashed her face where her eyeglasses dug in. At 82, tumbles aren't a casual event, so bundled her back into the car and headed for Swedish by way of younger brothers house where folks decided that Mom was ok to rest there with my neice...and I was more or less ordered back to the route to distribute campaign business cards and say hi to folks.

Lesson? Given the apparent lack of priority given sidewalk maintenance* in Seattle, I'd suggest we all be a little more watchful where we're walking - ESPECIALLY if we have depth perception issues.

Following familial directions and fretting a wee bit about Mom, meandered back to the Parade route and strolled north along California, chatting and handing out business cards - a good time, and surprising how many folks dislike the Liquor Board (and how passionately) and how many folks share my concerns about fiscal responsibility in Olympia.

Saw Eldest Niece in a band on the route, spoke with a lot of folks (and only ran into one or two truly rude sorts), and stayed positive. Actually ran into several moderate and conservative Republicans, and some folks that were amazingly grateful that there *was* anyone, even reluctantly, running as a Republican in W. Seattle.

Must remember to pick up a hat and some sunscreen before doing this again, though!!

And yes, Mom is, if at all possible, seeing the optometrist on Monday.


*a friend had a similar experience with his Mom and wasn't precisely greeted with enthused support and assurances of swift repair by the folks he contacted at the city, and I've heard similar tales elsewhere. I'd be delighted to hear this is untrue, but am not terribly optimistic.